Earlier during the auspicious Karthik month this year, my friends and I decided to do something noble and different. We visited all the Hindu temples in Auckland and sang bhajans/kirtan in the service of the deities of the temple. While researching temples in Auckland we visited some we had never been to, we learnt a lot and it was just a great experience. Thought it would be great to share some of our great moments with you all. If you haven’t visited any or some of the temples below I suggest you do at some point. Apologies if we have missed any temple. In alphabetical order: 1. Bhartiya Temple (252 Balmoral Rd, Sandringham, 09 846 2677) : As luck would have it, we showed up on a day when Tulsi Ramayan was meant to be sung by a few noble souls (Thursdays), however, they were kind enough to let us join them. Not only were we fortunate enough to get an opportunity to sing for the deities but we also got to hear the Tulsi Krt Ramayan sung by knowledgeable devotees. 2. ISKCON Temple (1229 Riverhead Hwy, Riverhead, 09 412 8075) : At ISKCON too we were blessed with multiple services, made us feel so special. It was a great feeling to sing for the deities Sri Sri Radha Giridhari that are very dear to our hearts. 3. Jalaram Temple (Stoddard Rd, Mt. Roskill) : Ah! What fun, while people had Prasad we sang some of our favourite bhajans and later we had some Prasad ourselves. It took us some time to pull off a satisfactory selfie that we could share with all. Sadly that meant we delayed things for the authorities, so sorry for that :-) 4. Maa Durga Temple (4/3 Onslow Ave, Manukau, 022 452 4622) : The temple manager not only tolerated our singing but also honoured us with trophies and a certificate for our very little service at the Dusshera they organised earlier this year. Also, the very last temple we had visited before our beautiful journey ended. Mata Rani Ki… JAI!!! 5. Radha Krishna Temple (145 New North Rd, Eden Terrace, 09 379 4463) : The deities at this temple loved us so much.. somehow we managed to visit and sing at the temple twice in the month. Great joy on both occasions, would do it again in a heartbeat. 6. Ram Krishna Temple (25-27 Onslow Rd, Papatoetoe) : As soon as we walked into the temple we were struck by the beauty of the deities, and there was some lighting effect too. A great big thank you to the management for opening the temple especially for us on the day it was meant to be closed. What amazing people there are in this world! 7. Shiva Temple (43 Holmes Road, Manurewa, 09 624 1137) : A beautiful temple that gave us the feeling of being in India. Also managed to get a pic with the very kind and generous priest on the day. 8. Shree Swaminarayan Temple - ISSO (10-12 Wentworth Ave, Papatoetoe, 09 277 5756) : Got to learn a lot from here, met with some very humble devotees and also spoke to some that had put in a lot of effort into building the temple. A very big thank you to the priest and the management for honouring us in front of the huge crowd. 9. Shri Shirdi Saibaba Temple (12-18 Princes Street, Onehunga, 09 636 6400) : It was a divine feeling singing at the temple for the deities. Wished we could stay even longer but made the best of the time we were allowed to sing for the beautiful deities (plus a bit more extra time) 10. Shri Swami Narayan Temple – BAPS (21 Barrhead Pl, Avondale, 09 828 2277) : Felt a great vibe at the temple, time flew by so fast we must of comfortably spent 3-4 hours or longer singing at the temple. Also got to have lunch with some very knowledgeable young devotees from the temple. 11. Sri Ganesh Temple (4 Dent Place, Papakura, 09 298 8640) : It happened to the very first temple we visited, and what a great start. The Abhishek (bathing) of the deities was a treat to watch. And the priests were lovely to speak to and learn from. 12. Sri Sri Radha Damodar Temple (11 Pleasant View Rd, Panmure, 09 527 8146) : We sang bhajans at the temple, then got to hear bhagavad katha (story of Lord Damodar) and then got to sing some more, at most times off-key and off-beat till it was late. But we still refused to budge till our own families forced us out of the temple :-D 13. Thirumurugan Temple (145 Churn St, Otahuhu, 09 276 2754) : An amazing temple and some really amazing people at this temple. There were a great number of beautiful deities and we were lucky enough to watch the arati (offering lamp, etc) for each of them. We sang a lot for all the deities and took many more selfies here. 14. Thiru Subramaniam Temple (41A Stanhope Rd, Ellerslie, 09 263 8854) : We were extremely delighted to meet the authorities at the temple here. They were very welcoming and also got us to be a part of the deity worship. We are extremely thankful to them for the warm welcome. A final biggest thank you to all the temples, their management, authorities, devotees, priests and visitors for allowing us to visit and sing for the deities. It was a true blessing from God and his humble devotees that we were able to complete this service. It was an honour for us and we are grateful that you were all willing to be a part of our wonderful endeavour and memories. Attached is a collage of pics we took at the temple to capture the special moments and memories. Note: some selfies/pics weren’t able to make the cut and in some temples pics were not allowed… so we borrowed some from our friend Mr. Google. Hope you like it!
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 02:18:00 +0000
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